Principal Cloud Security Architect
Posted Today by Alignerr
Negotiable
Undetermined
Remote
London, England, United Kingdom
Summary: The Principal Cloud Security Architect role focuses on assessing and enhancing the security of large-scale cloud environments for organizations. This fully remote position requires expertise in identifying architectural risks and IAM misconfigurations across major cloud platforms. The ideal candidate will produce structured reports and communicate findings effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. This role is designed for senior security practitioners with a strategic mindset and a deep understanding of cloud security architecture.
Key Responsibilities:
- Assess cloud architectures across AWS, Azure, and GCP for security weaknesses and structural risks
- Review IAM configurations, permission models, network segmentation, and resource-level policies
- Identify misconfigurations, privilege escalation paths, and insecure design patterns
- Produce clear, structured reports summarizing architectural flaws with actionable mitigation guidance
- Validate alignment with established security frameworks, compliance requirements, and industry best practices
- Support recurring assessments of evolving cloud environments and deployment patterns
- Translate complex technical findings into structured documentation accessible to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Key Skills:
- Deep, hands-on experience in cloud security architecture across one or more major cloud platforms
- Strong command of IAM principles, network design, and cloud-native service models
- Proven ability to identify architectural risk patterns and communicate them clearly in writing
- Methodical, detail-oriented approach
- Able to work independently and deliver structured, high-quality assessments without close oversight
- Experience with multi-cloud environments, zero-trust architecture, or high-compliance regulated industries (nice to have)
- Familiarity with frameworks such as NIST CSF, CIS Benchmarks, SOC 2, or ISO 27001 (nice to have)
- Background in penetration testing, threat modeling, or security engineering (nice to have)
- Relevant certifications such as CCSP, AWS Security Specialty, or CISSP (nice to have)
Salary (Rate): £64.00 hourly
City: London
Country: United Kingdom
Working Arrangements: remote
IR35 Status: undetermined
Seniority Level: Senior
Industry: IT
About The Role
What if your deep expertise in cloud security could directly shape how large-scale organizations protect their most critical infrastructure? We're looking for a Principal Cloud Security Architect to dig into complex cloud environments — uncovering architectural risks, IAM misconfigurations, and security design gaps before they become real-world vulnerabilities. This is a fully remote, flexible contract role built for senior security practitioners who know how to think like an attacker and communicate like a strategist.
Type: Hourly Contract
Location: Remote
Commitment: Flexible, based on project scope
What You'll Do
- Assess cloud architectures across AWS, Azure, and GCP for security weaknesses and structural risks
- Review IAM configurations, permission models, network segmentation, and resource-level policies
- Identify misconfigurations, privilege escalation paths, and insecure design patterns
- Produce clear, structured reports summarizing architectural flaws with actionable mitigation guidance
- Validate alignment with established security frameworks, compliance requirements, and industry best practices
- Support recurring assessments of evolving cloud environments and deployment patterns
- Translate complex technical findings into structured documentation accessible to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Must-Have
Who You Are
- Deep, hands-on experience in cloud security architecture across one or more major cloud platforms
- Strong command of IAM principles, network design, and cloud-native service models
- Proven ability to identify architectural risk patterns and communicate them clearly in writing
- Methodical, detail-oriented approach — you look for what others miss
- Able to work independently and deliver structured, high-quality assessments without close oversight
Nice To Have
- Experience with multi-cloud environments, zero-trust architecture, or high-compliance regulated industries
- Familiarity with frameworks such as NIST CSF, CIS Benchmarks, SOC 2, or ISO 27001
- Background in penetration testing, threat modeling, or security engineering
- Relevant certifications such as CCSP, AWS Security Specialty, or CISSP
Why Join Us
- Work on high-impact security challenges across complex, large-scale cloud environments
- Fully remote and flexible — work when and where it suits you
- Freelance autonomy with the structure of meaningful, project-based engagement
- Apply your expertise where it matters most — reducing real risk at scale
- Potential for ongoing work and contract extension across future assessments and projects